An indispensable tool in any microbiology laboratory is the inoculating loop. The loop is a piece of wire that is looped at one end. By heating up the loop in an open flame, the loop can be sterilized before and after working with bacteria. Thus, contamination of the bacterial sample is minimized. The inoculating loop is part of what is known as the aseptic technique. Techniques also help detect the presence of bacteria that have become altered in their structure or genetic composition. The replica plating technique relies on the adhesion of microbes to the support and the transfer of the microbes to a series of growth media. The technique is analogous to the making of photocopies of an original document. The various media can be tailored to detect a bacteria that can grow in the presence of a factor, such as an antibiotic, that the bacteria from the original growth culture cannot tolerate. Tools, clothing and equipment able to withstand the pressures and temperature of an autoclave are usually sterilized in this way following microbiological work, though disposable items are becoming increasingly adopted in critically sterile fields such as surgery. Cleaning chemicals are frequently employed to sterilize an area before and after work, among the most common of which is simple ethanol spray. Tools and Techniques of microbiology is a book belonging to this category. The book not only gives the theoretical concepts behind the working of various tools used in the microbiology laboratory, but also details the techniques using those tools. This book is an excellent supplementary textbook, written in simple language and easy to understand even for beginners. All topics related to microbiology are covered general aspects like techniques, culture and identification of bacteria, bacterial genetics, water, soil and food microbiology and the study of viruses and fungi.